when do you...

[houseelf]

switch kids from the crib to the bed? My son flips around a lot in his sleep and doesn't come into our bed anymore at night, so part of me wants to wait awhile. Besides, we don't have a ton of cash to go out and buy a bed. But, I don't want to delay this milestone if keeping in the crib too long will make the transition harder. Also, is it necessary to make this transition before the fun of potty training begins. Any suggestions?



Kelly

[Meenah]

I didn't put mine in a bed until they could dismantle the crib!!!!

Luanne

I would say wait as long as you possibly can, Kelly...even though it is fun and exciting to cross the milestones....once crib is gone, it means baby can come out of his room at will !!! I think it is perfectly acceptable to wait until he is crawling out on his own and you are concerned that he might injure himself? We have a family bed, though we did have a crib for nap times...and I could no longer put Andrew in it when he climbed out for fear of injury...but...Amanda and Alex actually never slept anywhere but with me...so I might be the wrong person to ask!



Kris
Time is a Dressmaker, Specializing in Alterations!

My girls turned three last month, and they are still in cribs. They didn't start climbing out until about a month ago, at which point I took off the side with the lowering bar, and then put up one of those bed rails that you'd put on a "big girl bed" when you bought it. It makes for a smaller, more easilly navigated bed. And they love it. Now they are out of bed occasionally at night too. But the good thing is that by waiting this long they are now really solid sleepers and do not fall down the stairs, etc (a worry when you think they might get out of bed and go walking while you are sleeping. I put a gate in the doorway of their room, so that helps with the night time wandering. If they want to come into our bed in the morning, then can do that. But we've never been very good at sleeping together. I just don't sleep, and there isn't room for four of us in our queen size bed.



I say wait as long as you can. Some kids climb out really early, others (like mine) are too cautious about injuring themselves to try that.

[houseelf]

---so if your girls are more restrained at night, how do they deal with night time potty issues? (I'm asking this from the perspective of someone who knows absolutely nothing about potty training)



I agree with what you said about sleeping better with the kids out of the bed. We did the family bed for the first year to help with nighttime nursing. When we weaned him my hubby insisted that he sleep in his own bed and the transition took about 3 weeks. I really miss the constant cuddling and closeness but I am so much more rested and energetic. It is a definite tradeoff, especially since he is getting to that age where he is too busy to cuddle. <sigh>



Kelly

Kelly, I agree with Janet and Kris. Keep him in the crib as long as possible! My first child fell out once when he was only a year old and it scared him so much he didn't ever climb out again. I kept him in the crib until his brother was born. They are about three years apart. My youngest, climbed out of the crib before he was two on a continuous basis. We put him in a bed but I tell you.... I MISS the crib! It is so hard to get him to stay in his bed long enough at night to actually go to sleep. And he comes in to our room so often that I don't always get much sleep. I can't really address the potty training thing. I have all boys who didn't potty train until they were about 3. I had them out of the crib before potty training really got into full swing.



I say keep the crib!!



Robin

[houseelf]

ironically enough, he fell out of the crib for the first time last night. This must be on his mind as well!

With potty training, I trained them for day potty and kept them in diapers at night (at age 2 1/2). Then, at about age 3, they were ready to go nights without diapers. They have great bladder control (this varies tremendously from child to child), so they sleep all night without needing to "go peep" (as my second twin likes to say). If they do wake up, they usually climb out of their "modified crib minus side rail" and come in and tell me. They still don't like to go onto the big potty by themselves and like me to lift them up and make sure they don't fall in.

[houseelf]

That is so funny about your older twin! I distinctly remember making my older brother go to the bathroom with me because I was afraid of being flushed down the toilet. I was also afraid of baths because of the threat of going down the drain with the water. These were very real fears to me at the time even though they seemed far fetched now.



Kelly

That is so funny, Kelly....I used to be afraid to take a bubble bath for fear that a shark might be in the water (I snuck down the stairs and watched JAWS one night when my parents were watching it...and the fear followed me)! I was a mommy before I started taking bubble baths again....ahhhhh Calgon...take me away



Kris
Time is a Dressmaker, Specializing in Alterations!

Wow, switching from a crib to a bed....I never had the luxury. My son refused to sleep in a crib at all and, thus, he has always been in a bed, mine! I can't complain, though, I love snuggling with him at night. Anyway, I wish I had some great wisdom for you. I do know that my sister, who has 6 kids, always had hers in a crib until around 3 or so.



Tiffany